Something About Chasing
by The Resident Artichoke
Summary: It had always been Will clinging. Will moving his world to catch up to the great son of Hades. At first, it didn't bother him, but after months of being ignored by Nico, Will was terribly upset. Solangelo. One shot.


**Hey! It's my Solangelo shipping anniversary! To celebrate, I've written this one shot in Will's perpective. This was inspired by the Library Scene in Junjou Romantica. It was episode six of season one, I think.**

 **Since in Soul Healing I focused on Nico so much, I really wanted to write something that could be true to Will's personality in the book. I hope I succeeded! You be the judge :)**

 **Disclaimer: No matter how hard I wished I owned every fandom I write in, I just don't own anything.**

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The Apollo cabin was filled with shouts and screams as the summer campers trickled in. Someone was belting out a Bruno Mars song as the karaoke track played. A group was having an epic haiku battle. Most were fighting over which bunk they took or where their luggage were.

In short, cabin seven was in chaos.

The only one who was quiet amongst the siblings was the eldest one - cabin seven's head counsellor, Will Solace. He had only been back for an hour yet his heart raced as he stared at the walls, absentmindedly playing with a bottle labelled: aromatic spirit of ammonia.

 _Why has he been ignoring me?_

"Um… I think Will's broken," one of the younger kids said.

"Hit him with the ammonia," another said before going back to the intense haiku battle.

Not noticing his little sister taking the bottle from his hands, he continued staring blankly, his mind elsewhere.

 _He never wrote back to me. He didn't Iris message me. Was there something I've done? Is he going to break up with me? Oh my gods, he's totally breaking up with-_

Suddenly, the bottle of ammonia went flying from the little girl's fist and towards his head, snapping him out of his daze. "Ow! Tracy, why would you do that?" he said, rubbing the sore spot on his head.

"Vinny told me to!" she said, pointing to her older brother.

 _"I did not tell her_

 _She threw the bottle at you_

 _Will, it is not my fault."_

"That's six syllables!" his opponent told him.

His brothers and sisters burst into argument. He strode towards the middle of the room, holding his hands up to calm everyone down. Unfortunately, no one noticed him. Well, they were asking for it. Will put his fingers in his mouth and did his loudest ultrasonic whistle. Everybody grabbed their ears as the sound pierced through the air. Some of the younger kids even dropped to the floor. He would get everyone's hearing checked by tomorrow.

"Would someone turn the music down please?" With a grumble, his brother turned the speakers off. He mentally did a headcount. "Good, we're all here. Before I let you do whatever you want, I'll assign the soloist for tonight's sing-along."

Otherwise, he'll be leading the camp in singing Journey songs like he did last year. What a disaster that turned out to be. Now, everyone knew Will Solace, son of Apollo, can't sing to save his life. Why was it that he could sing healing hymns finely but not regular songs?

Several hands flew up in air so he was forced to pick one. "Okay, Mae but no showtunes. Just songs about the gods, alright?"

She nodded and the music was immediately turned up. The haiku battle and all the fights resumed. Will sighed. He decided to go by the infirmary. If any of the other cabins' family reunions went half as crazy as theirs did, he would certainly be needed. Besides, healing was his favorite thing to do because honestly, it was the only thing he could do. Also, it would keep his mind off things... probably.

Inside the infirmary was half of the Hermes cabin. Apparently, someone thought that indoor fireworks was a good idea. At least no one lost any fingers this time. Regrowing body parts was hard work.

In no time, the Hermes kids were sorted out and Will gave the smaller ones lollipops for being good patients. Will smiled as he led them out. He was about to put the lid back on when he noticed that the whole candy jar had gone missing. He sighed and dropped himself on his chair.

 _Nico would have noticed_ , he thought.

Will should have just stayed at camp that year. But attending a university had always been his dream. When he was a little kid, his mom always took took him to the library and get him science books. He loved learning, even when the words would do dance numbers in his dyslexic mind.

Nico's face as he bid him goodbye last summer flashed in his mind. He did everything he could to convince Nico that staying at camp was a good idea only to leave him in the end.

 _"You're leaving? F-For college?" he asked. "But you stayed at camp every year. How-"_

 _"I took a proficiency exam," Will replied. "And I was accepted at the university near my home."_

 _He looked down to his feet "Well, that's good. You get to be close to your mom."_

 _"Nico… I'm really sorry. I just couldn't tell you sooner_

 _"Why?"_

Why indeed. Well, Will was already in love with him then, but he didn't say that.

They kept in touch, Iris messaging each other originally for at least once a month and then gradually coming close to once a day. Nico even shadow travelled to his house for his birthday. Will's mom liked Nico so much that she gave him half the carrot cake she baked.

Gods. He missed Nico so much. Although they had been going on dates - outings, as Nico called them - they had only been together since Winter break when he decided to spend Christmas at camp.

That was the last time he had spoken to him.

The door opened causing Will to jump up. He waited eagerly, hoping it was Nico, but was disappointed when he realized it was just Jason.

"Hey Will, you're back!" He greeted with a smile. "I just need a band-aid."

Will looked at Jason's fingers. "A paper-cut?" That was probably the lamest injury a demigod could get.

"Yeah, I was helping Nico with-" he stopped himself, pushing his glasses up.

He furrowed his brows, handing him the band-aid. "With what?"

"It's not really my place to tell."

"But I'm his _boyfriend_." What kind of secret did Nico have that he couldn't tell him but could tell Jason? He frowned at the son of Zeus - Jupiter, whatever. He knew better than to get jealous at Jason of all people, but he hasn't had any contact with Nico since January.

 _What if there's someone else?_

"Listen, man. Nico's a complicated person and you probably know that since you two are together."

"Are we?" he asked bitterly. "Are we really together?"

"We are," Nico said softly, coming out of the shadows. His worn jeans and black shirt were still shadowy around the edges but sharpened as he stepped into the light. "Hey, Will."

For a moment, Will stood frozen. He didn't know whether to laugh, cry, both or just kill the son of Hades right there. Jason muttered something about meeting with Piper and left the two of them alone. Nico went closer, watching him with expressionless eyes.

"W-what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I wanted to see you," Nico said. Will rolled his eyes and went around the room, pretending to be busy. Nico caught up to him and took his hand.

Ignoring the flutters in his chest, he wrenched his hand from his. He had to remember that he was furious. "I was like one rainbow away."

"You're angry at me."

"Gee. Whatever gave you that idea?" he said sarcastically.

It was the first time he appreciated how messy his siblings were. They really let the infirmary go to the dumps. Towers of papers, threatening to spill over, were sitting in a corner, empty containers of salves strewn carelessly around and all the beds were unmade. Now, he busied himself with cleaning and thinking how he would punish the year-rounders for doing this to his precious infirmary.

"I actually came to apologize," Nico said as he followed him around.

The sound of his voice made Will's heart clench. Ignoring him was hard enough. How could he possibly stay angry at him? He lifted his head from the floor and glanced at him. _Had he grown taller?_ He offered him a weak smile, which made him smile back. Nico hesitated for a moment, before approaching in a slight jog.

The sound of papers falling over echoed in the room. Will cursed under his breath. Nico had knocked over a tower of papers.

"Gods, I'm so sorry. Let me help-"

"No Nico." He let out a deep breath. "You've done enough. There's a specific way to organize these and you can't possible know how."

Uneasy silence settled over them as they knelt on the floor while Will arranged the papers in order so he could place them back in the cabinet.

Clearing his throat, Nico broke the silence. "I'm sorry for disturbing you then."

He stood up and headed towards the door. For a second, Will stared after him, a mixture of disbelief and dread rising in his chest. Instantly, he forgot that he was angry with him. The feeling of Nico leaving him weighed heavier that his own hurt feelings. Will got up and rushed to close the door before Nico could go.

Eyes wide, Nico spun around and gaped at the sight of Will towering over him almost too closely. Will opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself when he realized he didn't know what to say. _Nico grew taller_ , that was the first thing that registered in his mind. He also looked tired and it broke his heart a little.

"I thought you regret being my boyfriend," he admitted, finally.

Nico shook his head. "You're wrong."

Relief washed through him. It was all he needed to forgive him. Although, it did kind of suck that even after everything he went through to get close to the guy, he was still chasing after him. But Will pushed all those thoughts away and leaned into Nico's lips, pressing a delicate kiss there. He just couldn't resist. Nico deepened their kiss but Will playfully pushed him away.

"Jerk," he said. "Why didn't you contact me?"

"I um... was busy with a lot of things," he said and Will nodded. When Nico got crazy busy, his mind would go into depressing prince of darkness mode. Will sorted it out before, recommending tons of sleep and occasional dates with him - the latter being totally made up - but he supposed he could never fully take it out of him.

"I'll forgive you this time," he said, pulling him in a tight hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," he said softly.

Will placed his lips close to his ear. "You have to make it up to me," he whispered.

"Excuse me?" Nico shoved him away.

Will shrugged. "Come on, I haven't talked to you in months. You got to have a truly epic date planned when you ignore your boyfriend like that." He almost laughed when Nico crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at him. "Besides, we didn't get to celebrate your birthday."

"That's not necessary."

"Your present is back at my cabin."

His eyes snapped up to meet his. "P-present? Really?" Nico looked so adorable as he tried to suppress a smile.

"Of course, but you can only get it when you finally take me on that date," Will said. "You can't expect me to let you have everything you want just because I love you."

"Idiot. Stop saying weird things like that..." he said, turning away.

With his face flushed crimson, Nico turned back around, looking embarrassed. All the affection he showered him with still wasn't enough. Maybe it was because they were both guys? Although, Will was so much into him that he could hardly care.

"But I really want to make it up to you," Nico said, shifting awkwardly. "So I guess when you're off counsellor duties-"

"After the bonfire tonight, I don't have anything to do."

He shook his head. "Not tonight."

"Okay, tomorrow then?" Will suggested. The look on Nico's face crushed his excitement. "Fine, not tomorrow either."

Honestly, this was starting to frustrate him. What was it that got Nico so busy that he couldn't even spend a few hours with him? There were still papers to pick up so Will began walking away, knowing that his boyfriend was hopeless.

"No!" Nico exclaimed, grabbing his shoulder and turning him around. Will could have sworn that his world stopped for a moment. Nico's head was down, his hair forming a curtain around his face. "Tomorrow night. The whole night." Their eyes finally met. "We'll escape the harpies just like we did before. I'll meet you down at the lake after dinner."

Being in any kind of relationship wasn't really Nico's forte. Will knew that about him from the start. But at least he was trying.

"Alright, Nico," he said, grinning. "Do you have some time to spare in that busy schedule of yours?"

He nodded. "An hour."

"Mind if you spent it here, organizing papers with me?" Will asked. Nico eyed the large pile with hesitation. "And it is your fault they're all messed up now."

Nico gave him a small smile and went to help him. It was very quiet. Usually, when they were together, they would speak and argue about everything. But now, it was hard to spark up a conversation with someone whom he hasn't spoken to in half a year.

They were growing apart. He vainly tried to shake the thought from his mind.

"By the way, I got that scholarship I was applying for."

"Oh, I'm happy for you." As subtle as it was, Will noticed that Nico's face fell. It was probably nothing. He was just being paranoid.

"You see the Athena cabin has this software that converts texts and handwritings to Ancient Greek."

"Yeah I know that." Nico said.

"Really? I thought it was top secret." After Annabeth broke their carriage while looking for Percy some years ago, she offered the software as a payment.

"Annabeth told me about it."

They didn't talk for the rest of the hour. It wasn't like their usual comfortable silence either. It was maddeningly quiet. They were together, yet he felt alone.

The next day, Will spent half of the day in the infirmary. Originally, he was supposed to go back to the archery range in the afternoon to teach but he assigned it to his brother, Austin. Earlier's lesson went alright but he found that he was a bit rusty, when he almost shot his own foot.

His birthday present for Nico laid perfectly wrapped on his desk. It was small enough to fit in his palm but too large for his pockets.

He did not see Nico at breakfast and lunch. Figuring that he must be doing some underworldly chores for his father, Will shrugged it off. Lou Ellen visited and kept him busy, catching up on their daily lives. While she rattled off about whoever she was dating, his mind strayed to Nico, not having the heart to vent out his frustration over his boyfriend.

At dinner, he was at the table with his siblings, dodging vegetable after vegetable while staring at the empty table a few feet away. This was ridiculous. He couldn't will his mind to make Nico pop out of thin air.

A piece of broccoli managed to hit him straight in the eye. He glared at his brothers and sisters who instantly piped down, acting like the angels that they totally weren't.

"Kayla, take everyone back. I'm going to be busy with something."

She smirked. "You're just going on a date with Nico!"

"Will's going on a date? No way!"

There was an uproar of 'woahs' and 'oh my gods'. Before they could embarrass him any further, he left the table and walked down to the lake. He was a bit early but couldn't wait any longer. The birthday present burned in his hands.

The full moon bathed the grounds with a silvery blue blanket. The lake shimmered with the moonlight. Despite the heat of the summer earlier in the day, the night air was chilling. Some naiads waved sleepily at him. Lightning struck, causing them to dive back into the water in fear.

Once he was alone, he sat by their usual place by the shrubs. Nico to used to disguise them in shadows while the harpies went around them. Will looked at his watch. Curfew time was almost upon him. Nico was supposed to meet him half an hour ago. He didn't believe that the cleaning harpies actually ate demigods - that was just a threat for the younger campers. However, they did seriously injure people, making them wish that they just had been eaten.

Suddenly, it started raining. It almost never rained in camp half-blood, especially in the summer. This was one of those freak moments that proved that Will Solace was the most unlucky demigod in the world. The water came down in buckets. In order to save the present, he placed it inside his jacket.

Layers of mud covered his shoes as he sprinted back to his cabin. His hair clung to his face, covering his eyes. He swiped the wet hair from his eyes only to find harpies taking shelter on the porch.

He dashed towards the infirmary, hoping that no one would notice him. His heart raced when one harpy stared at his direction. Will kept his gaze at them. Fortunately, they didn't seem to see him, despite being out in the open.

Will unlocked the door to the infirmary and collapsed on the floor, soaked and his breath came out in pants. He didn't know whether his face was wet because of the rain or if it was tears and whether his heart pounded due to running or because of his emotions.

It was funny, how Nico seemed to make up new ways to hurt him. All he did was love him and yet he couldn't love him back with the same vehemence. Will let out a sob and buried his face on his damp jeans.

"Will?" someone called out. It was only then when he realized that the lights were on. He straightened up and looked around. Jake Mason stood at the other end of the room, covered in his usual bruises and scrapes.

"Jake?" he said. "What are you doing here?"

As far as he knew, there were no patients in the infirmary that day. What was even more confusing was the fact that Jake was dry, as if it weren't raining outside.

"Um… I was getting some bandages. There was a minor explosion in our cabin, you see."

"But how did you get in? The door was locked."

"Tunnels," he replied as if it was obvious. "We dug out secret passageways to every cabin in camp."

Will nodded. He had heard crazier things than that. At least now, he knew who regularly stole their supplies. He should probably apologize to Cecil for accusing his cabin mates.

"Is there something wrong? You look awful," Jake said.

He rolled his eyes. "Thanks. I feel so much better."

Jake took a towel from the cabinet and went over to him. He expected that he'll throw it at him but the next thing he knew, Jake was drying his hair off by himself.

"I'm sorry for stealing your medical stuff, by the way. So what's up? I heard you crying and I thought you never cried."

Will felt uncomfortable with how close Jake was but he just let him dry him off. He didn't really have the strength to do it himself. "It's nothing. Just-"

Out of nowhere, Nico appeared. He glared at Will and then at Jake, his eyes dark and angry.

He shoved Jake Mason. "Stay away from him!"

Nico grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the infirmary. Soft rain still patted against his skin but he was already drenched, so it made no difference.

"Are you going out with him?" Nico asked, his grip tightening as he pulled him across camp.

"What?"

"Is he your new boyfriend?" he seethed through his teeth.

How dare he accuse him of being unfaithful?

"Let go of me! You're hurting my hand."

Nico's eyes widened as if he had only noticed the tight grip he had on Will's hand just then. Will pulled away, rubbing his already bruising hand.

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "I was tired so I fell asleep."

Any other time, Will would have just let it pass and forgive Nico right there. Right now, he could just scowl at him and just barely keep his tears at bay.

"Look, this is none of my business now," he said, his voice sounded dull even in his own ears. "I'm breaking up with you so feel free to ignore me for as long as you want."

"Will..."

He briskly walked away, ignoring his name on his lips.

"You don't talk to me for months and then not give me an explanation about anything? Next you're telling me that you ditched me because you fell asleep? Don't treat me like an idiot," he murmured to himself but apparently loud enough for Nico to hear.

"I'm telling you, I was busy!"

"Yeah, sure you were." Will whirled around to face him. Nico took his hand but he yanked it back. "Just get away from me. I don't ever want to see you again!"

Will took off in the opposite direction, hoping to get away from him. Nico followed closely no matter how fast he ran.

"Will, please!"

He stopped dead in his tracks. Two harpies were near, muttering something about campers for dinner. When they spotted Will, his heart stopped, sure that he was already dead. Before he could even feel a rush of wind, Nico had his arms around him and they were transported into cabin thirteen. Will stumbled, his face almost hitting the floor but Nico grabbed him before he could get hurt.

Sitting up, he realized how close they were. Nico knelt in front of him, his breath warm against his face and his arm cold around his waist.

"Don't touch me!" His hand found a pile of books and he furiously threw one at Nico. "You don't know how I felt these past few months."

"I'm so sorry. Please let me explain."

Nico's gaze was so heartbreaking that he didn't how to respond. He fell silent.

"You've always been an incredible person. You're smart, responsible and clever… and there's me. I've only gotten to the fourth grade. That's why I'm studying and that's what kept me busy."

Will almost laughed. "Do you think I'd believe you?"

Nico shook his head. "You don't understand. I'm not smart - the things I learn just won't sink in. I'm not like you. But I want to be. You're already a year older than me. I can't do anything about that but I want to take the proficiency test so I could go to college with you.

The only thing Will could do was look away. Enduring his mere presence was agonizing enough.

"But then you got that scholarship and I felt like the gap between us was wider than ever before. I have to focus. I have to pour all my effort into it or else you'll leave me behind. I want to catch up to you. You mean a lot to me, that's why... I-I want to be someone who deserves to be by your side."

"D-deserves?"

It had always been Will clinging. Will making ways for them to work. Will moving his world to catch up with the great son of Hades - the one who had been to Tartarus and had saved millions of people's lives. But now, looking beneath the surface, it was always Nico who was chasing after him.

He thought he was the one chasing after him, when in reality, he was the one being chased.

"Why am I only hearing about this now?"

"It's not exactly something I could tell you…"

"Why won't you rely on me during times like these? What am I your boyfriend for?" he asked, exasperated.

"Will, I didn't even finish elementary school. This embarrasses me."

"And you think this doesn't embarrass me?" Will asked. Nico looked at him in confusion. "Whenever I tell people that I have a boyfriend, no one would believe me because you never called. I've spent a lot of time thinking of you - whether you were safe or with another person."

Something inside him felt broken. His body trembled with anger and some other emotion but he still tried to keep his voice from wavering. Nico inched closer and Will's reflexes acted out instinctively, shoving him away.

"And then there were times when I would think that if I hadn't met you, my life would be a whole lot easier! Gods, why do you have to make me feel so… so…"

"Will…" Nico took his hands.

He closed his eyes, tears streaming down his cheek. There was no use in holding back. "I love you. I love you, you jerk. Don't you get that? Why does it have to be you of all people?"

"Hey, hey." Nico grabbed his shoulders, gently coaxing him to look up. A hand cupped his face, wiping away the traces of his tears. "You wouldn't probably believe me after everything but let me tell you this. There's no one in this world I could ever love more than you."

He enveloped him into a tight embrace. Will revelled in the familiar sensation of Nico's arms around him. The soft brush of their lips reminded Will how hurt he was and at the same time, how much he missed him.

They were running in ridiculous circles trying to chase after each other.

Their foreheads rested against the other's, looking into each other's eyes, breathless. It was only then when Will saw how tired Nico looked, like he was forcing his eyes open.

For a few minutes or probably hours, they held on to each other. Neither of them really knew when they fell asleep but Will woke up at the crack of dawn and Nico soon followed. Will's brothers and sisters would probably jump to conclusions and spend the day whispering and giggling behind his back. He didn't care though.

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot." Will looked around for his jacket. It was still damp but the gift inside it stayed dry. "Your birthday present. But since it's way past your birthday, consider it your I'm-sorry-I-threw-a-chemistry-book-on-your-face and thank-you-for-saving-me-twice-from-being-eaten-by-harpies present."

Will figured that the reason why the harpy didn't see him when he was running to the infirmary was because Nico cloaked him in the shadows. He just nodded and went to opening his present.

"Mythomagic?" Nico glared, holding the box away from him. "I swear Solace, if you're mocking me or something, actual skeletons are going to appear in your closet."

Now, there's the Nico he knew and loved. He chuckled, standing and then picking up a heavy book before flipping through the pages.

"Of course I'm not. Don't you like it? The guy from the store said-"

He cut him off with a gasp. "The tenth anniversary edition platinum immortal deck!"

"Yeah, exactly that." Will knew he would love it. He had to fight with five other geeks to get it but with a little sneezing curse, he managed to get them out of the way. It was totally worth it in the end.

"This is so rare! I mean… um from what I remember. Thank you."

"Glad you like it." Will kissed his cheek, before going back to reading. "You know I love chemistry and physics."

"I'm on that chapter." Nico pointed. "Think you could help? My brain's not absorbing anything and Jason kept making lovey dovey faces at Piper. When your tutors make you vomit, you wouldn't understand anything."

"The trick to memorizing stuff is to just sing it," he said as he watched Nico's face go pale. "Gamma, x-ray, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, radar, microwaves… um and radiowaves," he sang in the tune of 'twinkle, twinkle little star', prolonging the last note.

"I think I'll just memorize everything the boring way."

Handing the book over to Nico, a brilliant idea came to his mind.

"I'll tutor you any time you want." Will offered.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "You're probably busy. I don't want to bother you."

"Nonsense," Will replied, shaking his head. "Besides, I have an ulterior motive. When you pass the exam and get accepted to a university, we'll be living in a tiny apartment together."

Nico's only response was to throw the book back at him. Thankful for his fast reflexes, Will avoided it easily and simply laughed it off. They still had a lot of catching up to do and this time, they were running together.

* * *

 **Why is the title Something About Chasing? Well, because I couldn't think of a title and so I labelled it that. It just stuck. I guess, it's better than Unnamed Solangelo Fanfic.**

 **I got electromagnetic spectrum song from my friends in high school. It really saved me on some quizzes.**

 **If any of you are interested in Wicked, please go and read my multi-chapter story, entitled Ouroboros.**

 ***In the voice of Dora the Explorer* What was your favorite part? Any corrections? Honestly, I don't really proofread everything well, but I tried. Please review and I'll make sure to reply to each and everyone of you :)**


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